 Poster: A snowHead
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This week my 10 year-old's school arranged for some environmental campaigners to bring their propaganda into the classroom. The thrust of their message was that you wouldn't fly if you cared about the environment.
The campaigner asked the kids to put up their hand if they'd taken a flight over half term. Each child was then asked how far they'd flown to find out who'd caused the most environmental damage. As we went to Canada, my son won the contest and the class was told that he was the naughtiest.
Am I right to be angry? Do children have a right to ski without being publicly humiliated?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Jonny Jones, I think the other kids will think he was way cooler than them... but I have sympathy with your point of view. Canada was your choice not his.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Jonny Jones, "And who wants to ski in Canada now children" Queue evey hand being raised.
I think what they did to a bunch of kids, who probably had no choice on whether to fly, was wrong.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Yes, complain.
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Jonny Jones, yes, I think that's very unfair on the child. "Hands up who has a big gas guzzling 4 x 4" "Hands up who has a patio heater".
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Yes you should be angry. Your child should not be humiliated at school. The campaigner obviously had no idea how to work with children.
Young children are very impressionable, they shouldnt be indoctrinated with this global warming farce. they should be able to make there own minds up in the long run, not be influenced by some narrow minded ethical warrior.
Your kid went skiing in canada i presume? thefore the other kids will be and should be jealous.
Campaigners are generally stubborn narrowminded boring gits. I cant stand them, unfortunatly we have lots of animal rights campaigners in Oxford.
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Jonny Jones, have you taken up the matter with the head?
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Quote: |
they shouldnt be indoctrinated with this global warming farce.
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They should be taught the science (that is, the most widely accepted version of the science, which is the best we can do) and they should be stimulated to think about the implications.
I also feel really sorry for the kids who couldn't put their hands up to having flown anywhere!
Any teaching methods which starts sorting/ranking kids in this kind of way is pretty despicable. When my mother first went to grammar school the horrible gym teacher made all the kids who lived in houses without bathrooms (which included her, and which would have included me, too, when I started grammar school) go and sit in the corner of the gym. Then she told them, in a loud voice, that as they were probably rather dirty little girls they should be sure to take advantage of the shower facility in the gym.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| pam w wrote: |
| Jonny Jones, yes, I think that's very unfair on the child. "Hands up who has a big gas guzzling 4 x 4" "Hands up who has a patio heater". |
...er, should I mention that we did hire a big gas-guzzling 4x4 and drove it for 4 hours through pristine wilderness to get to the resort? Perhaps we really were naughty 
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Perhaps we really were naughty
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But that doesn't justify making your son feel bad in front of his classmates. Though maybe, as others have said, his classmates just wished they'd had such a super half term too. In which case, we should feel sorrier for the others...
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Jonny Jones, Maybe, but your child shouldnt be humiliated in front of his peers like that. Take it up with the head
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You know it makes sense.
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Mind you, and as stoatsbrother, says, when I was that age the whole idea was to be the naughtiest - for boys anyway.
Was he actually 'bovvered'? Only if the answer is 'yes' is it worth taking further IMV...
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Go to the head and write to the Board of Governers. That's really not right - regardless of whether it is true or not about Global Warming - your child didn't do anything wrong, he went on holiday with you. I hate all the guilt about Global Warming - even if it's happening, don't make me feel guilty, that's for Catholics.
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Poster: A snowHead
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red 27, hmm, I think the issue of teaching methods needs to be addressed, even if he was ecstatic to be singled out!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Jonny Jones, Key question. Did your son feel humiliated? A bit 'naughty', Embarrased? or Way Cool for having flown to Canada?
If anything but the latter go and play merry hell with the idiot schoolteacher. If the latter, maybe tone down your response accordingly.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Jonny Jones, not at all .. its an excellent idea to stop all those prius driving sudo greens bleating on about recyling , despite flying long haul twice a year..
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laundryman, agreed, upon further thought... also see my earlier post...
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Did he say he was "demonised" or "humiliated"? If so, complain. If he feels it was cool, then I wouldn't make a big fuss out of it.
It's a shame that some people are unable to put a valid point across in a way that's seen as harsh. Hopefully they can be trained in how to work with children that doesn't lead to problems.
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I would want to know if the enviromentalists asked the kids whether the co2 emissions were offset against other activities?
Also as a teacher, I would view this as a potential way of alienating some children and making them susceptible to bullying. (teachers always get scared if you relate anything to bullying!) Definately mention this to your child's teacher and if you are not satisfied with the response write to the head teacher and governors of the school.
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Your first priority should be for your son's feelings as complaining can be very embarrasing. But if he is happy I think should ask the teacher of the Head to explain what aspect of which curriculum was being covered by this visit. You can check this at www.qca.org.uk. If you are unsatisfoed with the answer ask to speak to the Chair of the Governor's Curriculum Sub-committee to explain your concerns. This nonsense should be stopped immediately.
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The environmental campaigners have probably
1) Made a Canadian skiing trip more rather than less attractive to the children.
2) Made the kids who never get a chance to go skiing feel even worse.
.... but how should of this environmental awareness been conducted for best effect?
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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[quote="AxsMan"][ go and play merry hell with the idiot schoolteacher.
When schools invite speakers in (speakers who sometimes do not regularly work with children), they do so with the best of intentions. Speakers rarely provide a 'lesson plan' for their session and therefore quality control is tricky unless you have seen the speaker speak before or know them personally. I know many schools who have had their fingers burned by speakers. I would expect an intuitive teacher to pick up this theme (and the damage done by these speakers) and 'offset' the damage caused to the 'ranking travel naughtiness league' that was created in the session. This could be done in a number of ways very easily - a number of points have been mentioned in this thread. An inexperienced teacher may not know how to handle this situation.
A school's intention is to always have your child's best interests at heart (with varying degrees of success according to the calibre of the teachers).
On this occasion, the school let your son down. You do need to alert the school so that this does not happen again and make sure that they don't think the session was a 'raging success' - it clearly wasn't.
You could insist:
Such speakers are not invited again and that they are given this feedback so this doesn't happen again to another child in another school.
There is an opportunity for the class to have a more balanced debate on this subject so that all viewpoints are given a fair hearing (with the teacher's assurance that your son won't be singled out in any way as a result of you giving feedback to the school).
Could you talk to one of the parent governors if you are unsure about the impact of approaching the school more formally?
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Jonny Jones, I'm appalled. When are you seeing the head teacher? Be sure to give us an update.
I think it is the adults who are the bullies in this case!! 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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FFS between 0.02% and 0.03% of the earths atmosphere is CO2 and less than 20% of that comes from the burning of fossil fuels. We need a certain level of CO2 in the atmosphere as it is what plants use to 'breathe'! (photosynthesis)
The sun is thought by some to be the primary factor for the warming of the earth (as can be seen from the fact that other planets in our solar system are warming too). There have been periods in earth's history where it was substantially warmer than it is now (the middle ages is the most referenced one, not many planes or cars then AFAIK).
The only reason Al Gore is hyping up CO2 is because the amerikans (sic) want to be able to trade it (i.e. make money out of it, inconvenient truth or convenient profit?). I am not anti green, I recycle, i oppose GM foods, I try to buy as ethically as possible etc but seeing Penn and Teller get 100 green activists to sign a petition to ban dihydrogen monoxide says it all to me 
Stupid basts are blinded to the truth by the bull***t that is being fed to them, they want to see an environmental crisis? Tell them to look at the effects of depleted uranium shells being used by the UK & US in Iraq. Radioactive material that we are leaving all round the middle east, no plans to clean it up and the stuff lasts for freakin years, but it'll all be ok if we stop flying, re-use our carrier bags and buy an electric car.
Oh and btw if some ar*e demonised my little girl in front of her school friends like that for going on a holiday, when even the scientists don't agree on the subject of global warming, I would be asking questions of the school without a shadow of a doubt.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Sounds like a bit of a laugh to me - maybe taken out of context???
However, with some of the responses on here Im not surprised when I hear about teachers not wanting to take kids on trips for fear that they could get sued by the parents if anything happened to their little dears.
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JDC, at best (assuming it's been reported correctly), this is visiting the sins of the father on the child. I don't see the joke in that.
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You know it makes sense.
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Jonny Jones, I think it's disgraceful. You send your kids to school to learn to read and write etc. not have their heads filled with left wing propaganda from tree hugging teachers. To single out children in that way is wrong too. To think that our children could be lied to like that if it's ever proved that human CO2 emissions aren't causing the amount of warming being claimed at the minute. Worrying that it's allowed.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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JDC maybe they don't want to take kids on trips as that would involve the use of transport, thus further contributing to the boiling seas and scorched earth.
I don't see it as a laugh, the indoctrination of children to believe in global warming, when it's not even a scientifically proven fact stinks.
The greenie might be better served to put across an argument that there are enough resources on the planet for everyone, that the business class only flights between London and New York that lower the capacity of the flight by 70% (so that the big wigs can have beds to lie out on rather than seats and doubtless have grapes popped in to their mouthes as they rest) are a better target than someone going on a family holiday that their parents worked hard for. But that might be seen as truly revolutionary 
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Steezy wrote: |
| so that the big wigs can have beds to lie out on rather than seats and doubtless have grapes popped in to their mouthes as they rest |
Oops .. that must be me!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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There's always one, I'll have the foie gras burger and a pint of Tattinger to wash it down please stewardess 
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Oops .. that must be me!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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JDC, Regardless of the rights and wrongs of the sentiment, holding a child up to ridicule in front of their classmates is not a recognised educational strategy that I am aware of, BUT ....'spose it depends on the personality of the child, some kids would take it as a laugh others may be more sensitive. As these people were invited into the school, I take it they did not know the kids well enough to make that decision.
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Steezy, funnily enough, that's exactly what I had on my last flight. She muttered something about "company policy" when I asked for my favourite dessert though. 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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My son is actually too level-headed to have been psychologically damaged by this event, and he loves skiing too much to ever be converted into a tree hugger. No actual harm was done, so I don't plan to make a huge fuss.
But I do feel angry for two reasons. I have another son in the school who would certainly have taken badly to being singled out in this way, and I'm not happy with the school giving a platform to people who could humiliate kids. Also, I don't like someone else making moral decisions on my behalf and attempting to use my child as a lever to change my behaviour.
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Grimsby Ranger, Just what I was going to say - it annoys me that the schools only put across the 1 argument (same at my kids school). Sure, explain that there "may" be a problem - but as others point out, it is still open to debate on the causes. Our kids have a "walk to school" week. Dont see the headmaster parking his Land Rover anywhere but his usual spot in the car park!
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My main problem with sh*t like this is that it is another step towards to trying to create a hive mind. Call me paranoid if you like but it seems more and more that individuality is frowned upon and the main priority is consensus of opinion. People aren't products or resources, they can't be made to agree on everything unless you dumb them down and stop them thinking for themselves. I wonder if McDonalds diplomas will be recognised by Burger King?
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Jonny Jones, Environmental education is OK when it stops at a scientific approach - when it encounters politics it goes too far. At that age children are way too impressionable to open to minds to the idea that there might be an alternative argument, and are liable to accept the offered viewpoint as the only viewpoint. I think you have every right to be livid - I would be and the school would already have been on the receiving end of a visit if it had happened here.
I'm just waiting for the day my kids come home and tell me that its wrong to eat meat!! 
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| Steezy wrote: |
| ... another step towards to trying to create a hive mind. |
hive mind is a great expression - your own?
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FAQ
I'm sure that can't be right - surely if anyone is naughty it's you not your son, even using their 'logic'?
